Chapter 3: How She Found Out and The Mountain King

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Kingdom, just this fanfic.

Real queens

fix each other's

crowns.

-a quote on friendship

She was dreaming.

Sasuke was sitting beside her, leisurely sipping his tea. They had stopped by a tea house on road for a break, deciding to take their time in favor of hurrying to go home to Konoha.

The fragrant aroma of her jasmine tea considerably calmed her, feeling satisfied as she looked at the nature with her beloved. She sipped a little of her tea and turned to look at Sasuke, taking in every single thing she could. She took in the way his hair flowed softly through the wind, the way he gently held his cup, the look in his eyes as he enjoyed the slight breeze of fresh air. They weer just there, with peace and nothing to disturb it. Her heart soared as she took in this moment, feeling serene and tranquil.

She smiled as he looked at her. The moment she saw him smile softly, she couldn't stop the tears that flowed down her cheeks. This was impossible because she'd been alone without him for a month.

This was how she knew she was dreaming for sure. She hoped she wasn't, so much that her heart ached.

Then it was over in a moment.

His face was the last thing she saw as she woke up, eyes looking into unfamiliar ceiling. She could feel the wetness of her tears still running down the side of her face. Her whole body ached though she felt immensely better than she remembered just before she passed out.

Pausing at the thought, her heart pounded with apprehension.

She... passed out.

She bolted out of bed as she touched her face and her hair as she remembered her henge being undone. She looked at her locks and cursed. She was in her own form. The people she fought surely saw it.

She looked at her surroundings, realizing she was in a tent, a sizable one and she was seated on a makeshift bed that looked as though it was made in a hurry.

Before she could question how she passed out or how she was still alive after defeating an enemy commander and basically leaving herself vulnerable as she blocked out, a sudden shuffling sound alerted her. She turned to see a beautiful woman with light-red hair and stormy eyes. The woman looked maybe her age, perhaps a bit older. With a tattoo on her forehead and two dots under each eye, she looked stunning even with splashes of blood on her clothes and skin.

"You're awake." The woman said simply and in a matter-of-fact tone.

Sakura tried to sense if there were others outside the tent. She found she couldn't.

Being a medic ninja and a student of one of the three sannins, Tsunade Senju, she prided herself in her ability to control chakra perfectly. It was one of the few things both her powerful team mates, Naruto and Sasuke, didn't surpass her with. It was the one thing she excelled at the most, the reason she could help and heal people who needed it. Now that she couldn't seem to tame her chakra, she felt confusion and dread.

She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes to concentrate. Her chakra was there, she just couldn't seem to control it with how wildly it fluctuates in waves. Usually her chakra was more of a still water that needed just a bit of smooth manipulation when she wants to do something with it. She didn't even need to consciously access it as it had always seemed to come naturally to her.

Concentrating further and discovering she could use her chakra with a bit more effort. She sighed a bit of relief though accessing her chakra used more concentration, she found she couldn't complain. Until she knew what the cause of her fluctuating chakra was, this would have to do. Didn't mean She liked it though.

Clenching her fists and abruptly standing, she scanned for her pack and asked, "Where am I?"

The woman moved to her right, fetching what looked like her bag and tossed it over to her.

Surprised, she swiftly caught the bag and grabbed a kunai.

"There's no need for that." The woman told her, unperturbed by her weapon, "I have no desire to harm you and your child. I merely wish to talk."

Sakura didn't know what the hell the woman was talking about. She took a long look at the woman and concluded she wasn't joking around.

"...what?" She asked, confused and almost shouting.

The woman looked at her, eyes narrowing for a moment then lighting up as if she had just realized something.

"You did not know."

Silence.

As if Sakura wasn't confused enough, the woman told her, "You are with child, face-shifter."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Here she was, just woken up after a seriously dangerous situation, with a woman she hadn't even seen or talked to for a minute and telling her she was carrying. With difficulty, she tried to clarify, "W- with child?"

"Yes. You were fortunate, a comrade of mine is knowledgeable with medicine and was able to check what caused you to fall unconscious."

Sakura didn't know what to say. It made sense. She had been travelling for weeks without rest. If she was pregnant...

"Why am I still alive?" she had to ask.

The woman visibly regarded her with respect, confusing her even further.

"You did not kill any of my men despite being attacked first. For that, I must thank you." the woman smiled, "Bajio tells me you have defeated dozens of my men including him and Tajifu. You are more skillful than you look, face-shifter."

There was one more thing that bothered Sakura more than being respected by an enemy.

"What do you mean by face-shifter?"

"My men says you were a man when they tailed you down the mountain, now you have the face of a woman and a body of one. A woman with child no less. You do have some strange coloring," the woman scanned her from head to toe. "They had taken to calling you a face-shifter." the woman sat on the chair beside the bed, motioning for her to sit beside her. She did. "You were lucky I had arrived when you collapsed, Bajio couldn't have stopped the rest of my men from killing you by himself."

Sakura considerably calmed down. If these people hadn't killed her when she was unconscious, they wouldn't hurt her now that she was awake. Wouldn't be able to even if they wanted to anyway. With chakra or without.

Although she felt more relaxed, her mind was a jumbled mess. There were too many things going on. She just found out she was pregnant for kami's sake. Pregnant! Her heart leaped at the thought. She was torn at being happy because she and Sasuke were having a child or devastated for the godforsaken timing. She couldn't even tell Sasuke the news. Also, face-shifter? That sounded so lame. Henge was normal in her world. In this world, they made it sound so mysterious and seriously lame. Seriously not cool, like,at all.

She sighed as she massaged her forehead, easing some tension.

"I'm assuming Bajio is the man who wielded two swords?"

"Yes."

"I don't think I know your name."

"My apologies. My name is Yotanwa, king of the mountain tribes." The woman said simply, as if it was a completely normal thing to say. Sakura supposed it probably was. She wouldn't know as she was unfamiliar with all of this.

Sakura wanted to ask if she was serious as for her norm, women didn't tend to be kings. She thought about it for a second and didn't remember rulers who were women back in the Five Nations of her world. Then again, this wasn't hers.

"My name is Sakura." She offered, introducing herself briefly. "I still don't understand why you would spare me."

"You wouldn't. We, mountain people respect strength and I know you are a great warrior. It is a matter of gratitude and curiosity as my men had called you a monster when I arrived after finding one of my generals injured and defending you. None of my men would be able to injure him much less touch him. That leaves you, who were on the ground unconscious."

Yotanwa gave her a strange look, like she wanted to interrogate her about everything she wanted answers to.

Sakura contemplated what had happened until now. If this woman was the king of the people who attacked her, it was either she was stronger than all of them or just someone who held power as a leader. She suspected the latter as she took a look at the woman's appearance. Bloody and unscathed.

By her calculation, the 'mountain people' were probably stronger than a lot of people in this world. Though they appeared wild and untamed, they had skill and technique that most of the soldiers she met weren't capable of.

"Why would your men attack a person just passing through the mountain? If I were somebody else, they would have killed me without reason."

"Not without reason, no. It is history." Yotanwa answered. "Many of the the plain dwellers have killed a lot of us, they mock and kill us because we are different. As you can imagine it is likely that those who attacked you first had a loved one- perhaps their family, a lover, or comrades, killed by your people."

Sakura frowned at that.

The 'Plain dwellers' as the woman called it, were not her people. She was from another world for goodness' sake. She hadn't even spent more than a month in this world. She remained silent as the woman continued.

"There is more to our history and more reason to hate your people." she let her words hang, looking blankly ahead of her. "I imagine you are not from the state of Qin as people from this state know not to enter the mountains."

"No." Sakura verified with a slight shook of her head. "I- It's been a month since I arrived in these lands. I didn't know about the mountain. If I knew, I think I'd still have gone through here. I apologize." She told her truthfully, albeit with a little regret.

Sakura intended to visit places she could, even the dangerous ones. All to go home.

Now that she discovered she was with child though, Sakura didn't know what to do. She knew how taxing and stressing travelling could be, specially in her condition. If Sasuke were with her though, she would probably be able to endure it as being with him was her security, her comfort, her home.

She closed her eyes to fight the urge to cry. Not now that the only person she could rely on was herself. She couldn't run to anywhere. Not Konoha, where her family and friends were. Not to her husband who wasn't here.

She stopped thinking about them at once.

It wouldn't do to feel homesick.

"You need not apologize. I did not intend for my men to attack anyone. I aspire to broaden our world, not to confine ourselves further into the mountains. It would not do for my men to disregard orders and make more enemies." Yotanwa had a glint in her eyes that told Sakura that the first two men who attacked her would face consequences. "Not that I would not welcome more."

Confidence and strength.

Sakura was mildly reminded of her Shishou. It had been a while since she had seen her master, more or less two to three years. This woman was a great person if her master and Yotanwa's similarities were to be based on. She decided then that the woman was trustworthy. Everything she told her was not a lie, she could tell. She could also tell that the woman had no suspicious intent. Not in the slightest.

If she were to think about it. Yotanwa had been magnanimous and gracious since she'd woken up. Something she did not expect from someone who called themselves a king. Then again, if she deemed her worthy of respect, it must be how she shows it.

"It must be because we were in the middle of battle that my men couldn't contain themselves."

"Battle?"

Sakura took a moment to concentrate on accessing her chakra and was surprised. She sensed a lot of people around their tent. This place was probably a camp. Their camp.

"You were in a middle of a war?"

"War?" Yotanwa raised a brow. "No. Though it is regrettable, I must bring all tribes together if I wish to get acquainted with the world outside our mountains. I will achieve my goals, even by use of force. Besides, I wish to end pointless skirmishes between tribes and unite everyone for a meaningful purpose."

Sakura was torn between telling the leader of the mountain that violence was not a solution and telling her that she was strong and brave to do such a thing. She did not say anything as she understood that sometimes, spilling blood was the only way to achieve unity and peace.

Naruto could probably persuade every and any person to have peace without violence, but not everyone was Naruto. At the thought of the not-so-goofy-anymore teammate, she wondered if he could also save this world and unite every state in this country. China, as she discovered, was in a state of wars. A time where a country could wage war on another with any reason available. Whether it be land, women, money, or some other reason. It didn't help that this world was apparently in this state for hundreds of years. Those years had probably been a cycle of resentment and hate, something that needed a powerful common enemy in her world to get rid of. Hatred was not entirely out of people's system in the five nations, judging purely based on how many people still harbored hatred and ill-intent towards her husband as she saw when they traveled. The fact that many of them gave her husband a chance to redeem himself was a start. With the five Kages in good relationship, none of the masses would try to do anything that would again, spark a beginning of the old times.

Sakura noticed the woman look at her, probably waiting for her to say something.

"...why would you tell me this?"

"...I'm wondering that myself. You are no normal person. Besides being a face-shifter-"

"Please call me Sakura." Sakura interrupted, hoping it wasn't too rude to do so.

"Very well," the woman nodded as she continued, surprisingly undeterred, "Besides your ability to change your face, I'm told you have strength that is not of this world. I admit, more than your physical prowess, I'm intrigued by your ability to change your form.." she let her words hang.

Everything about Sakura would be foreign to this woman. Telling Yotanwa who she really was would not be a good idea, she thinks so at least. Then she decided on what to tell her, "I would be grateful if you didn't question me about it."

Yotanwa looked at her with a soft smile. "I will not force you to tell me anything you do not want to. But I must ask if you could show me your other face."

Sakura performed henge in front of Yotanwa, deciding that since the woman already knew she could anyway, why not let her see it? Of course she asked not to tell anyone and she'd been assured that everyone who saw and knew what she could do would not say anything to expose her. It wasn't like they could tell anyone with her language about her as Tanwa's men did not speak the same way anyway.

Yotanwa was noticeably surprised and awed when pink hair turned black, green eyes turned light brown and feminine build turned masculine after a puff of smoke. Sakura didn't think it was something amazing at all, but she was amused by the woman's reaction, causing her to giggle a bit in her natural voice, surprising Yotanwa with the sound. The woman had asked her if she could alter her voice as well, and Sakura answered yes in a manly voice.

The two of them spent a lot of time talking together. They talked for hours until the king of the mountain invited Sakura to eat for the evening.

When the two of them walked out of the tent, Sakura could see dozens of people looking at them, standing and alert after they noticed them walking out of the tent.

The woman beside Sakura paused after two strides and yelled in a language she supposed was what she heard when she encountered the men who charged at her. It took a few moments before Yotanwa was done addressing her people, sometimes even pointing at her. Then all the men Sakura could see yelled in what sounded like a war cry and then proceeded to do whatever it was they were previously doing.

Sakura asked what the woman had told them and was told that she simply told her men that she was a friend. Sakura didn't think that was all she had said but let it go as she was starting to get hungry.

As they ate, Sakura decided to go with Yotanwa and her army to their home, in which she suspected was further along from where they were currently at.

"Would it be really fine if I were to stay in your home?"

It took seconds for Yotanwa to answer her as she was still gulping down her food. "You are already a friend. It would be impolite of me not to invite you to my home."

Sakura smiled at that and wanted to know some things. "I know you're a king but, you're truly one of the mountain people aren't you?"

"The mountain tribes would never bend to any outsider even if they are overwhelmed by strength. So yes, I am one of them." the woman looked at her seriously. "Why would you ask this?"

Sakura thought of what she could say without sounding too rude.

"Because of how you are."

The king of the mountains looked confused.

"I mean, honestly? I think you're too polite and let's say, a bit too civilized to be a person who grew up in the mountains. Too mannered I guess, to be a king of these people. You even know a lot to be speaking my language so fluently." Sakura told her bluntly.

"You certainly do not hold back on your words." The woman looked amused.

Yotanwa looked to be thinking over what she said.

After a moment, she replied, "...us, mountain people, recognize strength. Because I was strong, a lot of tribes recognized me as someone they could follow as a leader despite being young of age and despite being a woman. This answers why I am who I am to these people..." a pause, "Why I could speak your language and know 'manners' as you call it, is because I've dreamed for a bigger world. I was young when I wanted to know of the world outside the mountains. Growing up however, I realize that maybe my dream to broaden my- no, our horizon is for naught." she looked into the distance, melancholy evident in her face.

Sensing the change of mood, Sakura wanted to console her newly-found friend.

"The world is a pretty big place you know." she started. "Maybe someday, something will happen that will make your dream come true. Maybe someone will come to help you make it come true. Or you or someone else could make it happen. It might also not happen in your time, but the possibility is there." Sakura thought back to her world. How Naruto was once hated and abhorred. How they stopped the world from going into flames. How she was happy to be with someone she loved despite how impossible it seemed back in the day.

"There's no such thing as impossible." she said in a small voice, with hope that it wasn't one of the impossibilities that she'd be able to go home.

She turned to her friend and smiled. "Don't give up without a fight."

Yotanwa mirrored her smile and looked to the stars.

"Thank you, Sakura."

NOT EDITED.

This chapter basically revolved Yotanwa and Sakura getting to know each other and befriending one another. This was a chapter that has 3000+ words containing scenes in just a setting or two. So uh, I hope it was okay. Also I hope characters weren't too OOC, especially Yotanwa. I seriously made her up in this chap. I honestly don't know if it was any good because I don't really know how I need to specifically write her -_-

Btw, I don't know if anyone noticed in the last chapter, but the kids who were sparring that Sakura saw were Shin and Hyou. I read a bit of kingdom a while ago, if readers remember, it was the scene where Shoubunkun(is this the right name?) saw Hyou and got off his carriage to speak to shin and Hyou.

Anyways, I'll answer questions regarding things that people might find themselves being confused on, if there were some.

Oh! and please tell me things I might be wrong about (names, locations, or whatever) so I can fix it(if possible).

Just to warn and inform everyone, this fic will be slow paced. And it's not guaranteed that I'll be posting updates every week or every other week. Seriously I don't know if I can even finish this fic (Just look at my incomplete stories *sweats*) and I think this story, if I can finish it, will be long.

If I could also update, expect it to be on a thursday or a Saturday. Just because :) (Today's an exception)

To LChan3706, Thank you! I hope this chapter answers your question as to why Sakura collapsed and how her chakra was disturbed. I can only hope it wasn't too unbelievable *sweats*. I also love Kingdom and Naruto CO T-T, I hope more people would write for this fandom, seriously. Thanks again! Btw, I hope you write again and update your stories because they're great XD

To RimK10, Thanks for taking the time to review! I hope it's still interesting and didn't disappoint!

To Dango Town, First of all, I didn't think putting in Shin in the characters tag would confuse readers. Sorry for that. I was thinking that if I only put in Sakura and Sasuke, readers might think this story would be just about them. I included Shin because I think he'd be appearing frequently in this fic (as will other Kingdom characters) and because I thought it wouldn't be fair to just put in Naruto characters even if Sakura is the main character of this fic.

Also if you or any readers take time to check out my other stories, you'll notice I'm a an avid SasuSaku fan. It's a relief to know that you or specifically, someone, is okay with the pairing cuz I rarely read CrossOver fics that pairs the main character with a character from his/her own world. Like it's an unwritten rule or something. At least with this, people will know what to expect and not be too disappointed XD.

You can bet Sasuke's desperately looking for her lolz. The time Sakura disappeared was a time when Sasuke and Sakura expressed their feelings most (Y'know, being young and married). They'd be missing each other if they were without the other even for a day, so~ you get the idea XD

Aaaaand I totally agree that Sakura is an observer. With Naruto, he'd do reckless things and damn consequences. Not saying that Sakura is the not the same but at the very least, Sakura would think about it and come up with something a little more subtle and do something without too much repercussion.

I hope this reply wasn't too long and that I addressed things needed addressing :)

End of Replies...

Thanks to all who f&f :D